Heart of a Fool, Mind of a Trainer
by The Freaking Shotgun
Summary: A young boy named Kanith was supposed to get his favorite pokemon Charmander rom Professor Oak. But a simple mistake turned the life he dreamed of into a rollercoaster of events that carved his adventure into something radically different...Chapter 3 up!
1. Chapter 1

((A/N This is my first story, an OC pokemon adventure I imagined…)

Chapter 1: Mysterious Dragon – What are you?

"The Pallet town Pokemon have now been chosen as of 8 o' clock A.M. this morning! Squirtle was the first to be chosen by 10-year old Kira Pappa, the first to start her journey with her new companion! Next came Devon Aarons, who chose the pokemon Bulbasaur! Last to come was-" The television was silenced by a nonchalant click of the remote. The ex-viewer of the program knew who the next name would have been anyway...Trevor Silverthorn, his own brother, had taken the pokemon that he, Kanith Silverthorn had adored his entire life; Charmander. Now, he was stuck with no pokemon, forced to wait another year for one. Forced to wait in his boring lifestyle of humdrum luxury. He always lived in luxury; the room he was in had many knick-knacks and ornaments. Pictures covered many spots on the wall, and the end tables for the three couches were adorned with doilies. Despite this, Kanith had always stayed outside as long as he could, watching for pokemon in his quiet town of Pallet. His house looked middle-class on the outside, but inside it would have made many people gasp at the simple beauty of the place.

But Kanith had never liked that, finding the gaudy, complicated decorations to make him feel over-pampered and too secure. He enjoyed a sense of adventure, the knowing that he wasn't safe. No, instead, he would train with the one pokemon he had; Poochyena, outside. Over the years, it had become stronger, but not enough serious training was put into the effort. Therefore, it still had yet to evolve to its more powerful form, Mightyena.

Gritting his teeth at the nerve of his brother, Kanith slammed the remote onto the cluttered table.

"Dammit, why does everything happen to me!" He yelled to no one in particular. The only response was the pounding of the rain against the windows, the weather matching Kanith's mood. He was quick to anger, but this made him absolutely furious. His selfish, stuck-up brother had walked off while he took his time thinking it was earlier than it actually was, and he lost the chance he had for Charmander. His parents were never home, and now all he had was his Poochyena. Just as he thought this he sighed, trying to keep the tears out of his eyes. He was impatient, but now he'd have to start the year-long wait again. Thinking this, he ran a callused hand through his shoulder-length blonde hair.

"Not that I wanted Trevor with me anyway…" He told himself, attempting to find comfort in the words. Calming down, he grabbed the remote again to watch other programs, slowly dozing off until the point of deep sleep...

He was awakened later in the night, the rain reaching a loud pounding. The rhythm of it had sent him into a sleep, but a louder, less orchestrated and mechanical sound awakened him - an obnoxious ringing of the phone. Groaning, he roused himself and picked up the phone.

'_Who's calling so late?_'

He thought as he hit the button marked "Talk".

"Silverthorn house…" he grumbled, forgetting the message he was supposed to say when someone called.

"Kanith? I thought you were supposed to go on your journey…" The rich, melodious voice of his mother questioned in a worried tone.

"Trevor took the chance to take the pokemon I wanted- oh hang on, I think Pooch wants to come in…kinda forgot…" he said with a shaky laugh, his conversation interrupted by scratching at the door. Just before he opened it, he realized that his Poochyena was, in fact sleeping on his bed.

Immediately, his hand left the doorknob. Who – or rather, what would be on the other side if he opened the door? Another scratch on the door. This time a weak "Gonnn….." sound met his ears. Whatever it was, it sounded desperate to get inside, but not to cause harm. Taking a deep breath, he decided that he'd open the door, and help whatever was out there. He touched the smooth, cold doorknob once again, and turned it completely around. On the other side, there was a short shape that was difficult to make out in the outdoor darkness. It had a large head, and had a dark tint to it. It stumbled inside, revealing a short, blue dragon-like pokemon with a grayish crest on its head. Whatever it was, it was covered in numerous bruises and scratches. It was obviously some kind of pokemon, and had been forced into quite deadly battle, and had gotten away somehow. Its eyes were barely open, and its breathing was loud and erratic.

Forgetting about the phone, Kanith knelt down and put a hand on the leathery skin of the pokemon. The only response was a weak growl; obviously it didn't trust humans.

'_That's not much of a surprise, judging by the way it looks._'

He thought. He cautiously picked the pokemon up and set it onto the couch. He turned to close and lock the door, then looked back to the blue pokemon. He walked back to the phone and picked it back up.

"…What took so long? Is something wrong?" his mother asked.

"Yeah…Pooch is fine, but-"Kanith stopped, deciding not to tell his mother about the mysterious pokemon that had scratched on the door. He would take care of everything himself, no need to worry his mother.

"But what?"

"Oh, nothing…look, I'm really sleepy, so see ya later…" he said, quickly ending what could have been a lengthy conversation. Sighing, he rubbed his temple; this situation wasn't a good one, and had happened quickly and randomly…the best thing he could do was take it to the pokemon center in Viridian City, which was a good half-mile away. But how long would this pokemon last in the cold? What if he was attacked by a wild pokemon? He could bring Poochyena with him…

"I'll be fine…" he said, reassuring himself from going into a panicked state. He went back into the living area, and grabbed a few blankets, most of which were of value, but they would serve the purpose he intended for them. He wrapped the blankets around the blue, wingless dragon-type pokemon. He picked it up into his arms, and grabbing the key to the house, he went outside, locking the door- the pokemon wouldn't last long if its wounds were infected.

Kanith soon found himself charging through the forest between Viridian and Pallet; he had covered almost all of the needed distance in about 10 minutes, finding the blue pokemon heavier and heavier the harder he ran. His body was covered in scratches, the tree branches cutting his arms and legs, tearing his black vest in several spots. He ran faster, hearing the pokemon's wheezing getting quieter and quieter. It probably would have protested, but was too weak to object. Soon, he was walking on a dirt road instead of grass, indicating that he would be there soon; the single, warm lights of the faraway city bestowing him with newfound energy. He pounded down the dirt road, wondering why he had risked so much for one pokemon; maybe out of a sense of adventure, maybe one of caring, but either way, he was in Viridian City, and the pokemon center was so close.

Kanith walked into the pokemon center, the white pokemon hospital being the only building open to the public at this hour. He rushed up to the desk, looking at the red-haired Nurse. Nobody but him, a red-head Nurse, and a girl with a Pidgeotto were in the center.

"This- pokemon - I – found – at – my – door…." He panted, attempting to regain the oxygen he had lost on his sprint to the center.

"Poor little guy…Chansey, please bring this Bagon to the operating room." the Nurse said kindly, unwrapping the blue pokemon and putting it on a stretcher. The pink, round form of Chansey steered it to the back. The Nurse fixed Kanith with a look.

"Do you have a Trainer's License?" She asked. Kanith shook his head.

"But I was supposed to get one…" Nurse Joy sighed.

"Well, you can get one from the pokemart tomorrow morning, and I'll contact Professor Oak about this…you are from Pallet, correct?" Kanith answered with a nod, taking a seat on one of the rather comfortable armchairs in the waiting area.

"Wait…what's your name?" She asked, having a phone in her hand.

"Kanith Silverthorn…" he answered. Soon the conversation was over, Kanith thinking about what would happen; by the sound of it, he would get a pokemon license! The ten-year old looked up with a grin on his face; maybe he could catch a Charmander this way! He waited for a moment, trembling with excitement. Soon Nurse Joy entered the waiting room, wearing a smile.

"He faxed me this…" She said, handing Kanith a sheet of paper with all of his information on it.

Looking it over, he looked at the Nurse in a questioning manner.

"Take that to the Pokemart tomorrow, and they can give you your Pokedex, and you can start training." Kanith smiled at what he knew was a major victory. But inside, he felt like he was forgetting something…

"What about Bagon?" Kanith asked, looking at the door to the back room worriedly; what could have happened to it? He had grown somewhat attached to it in bringing it here.

"He'll be fine, and since it was abandoned, and no records exist of a trainer within the immediate area owning a Bagon, he rightfully belongs to you…"

Kanith remained silent at this; he didn't know what to think. Inside he was happy that he would stay with Bagon, but he wanted a Charmander to be his first pokemon.

'_Oh, so it's male, too._' He thought to himself, replaying the Nurse's sentence mentally. He was jarred back to reality by the Nurse's kindly voice.

"You can stay upstairs for the night. First room on the right." She said, before going to the back room to operate on Bagon.

"Wait…what's your name?" Kanith asked before she was able to open the door; he needed to know the name of the person that helped him save Bagon, and the person that helped him get his license to catch and own pokemon.

"Nurse Joy. Glad to meet you, Kanith." She said with a sweet smile before opening the door.

"Guess I'll just go to sleep…" Kanith said to himself, going upstairs via escalator. On the right were some rooms, and on the left two clerks. A sign on each read "Trade" and "Battle" respectively.

'_Probably the formal trading and battle rooms…I gotta check them out tomorrow._' He said, before opening the first door on right. He put the blankets he used to carry Bagon there on the floor before laying down on the bed. He quickly fell asleep, thoughts of becoming a trainer swimming in his head…

Kanith woke the next morning, excited and hyper. He checked the clock; 9 o' clock, the mart should have been open by now. Grabbing the paper he was given be Nurse Joy the previous night out of his pocket, he ran through the white-walled pokecenter to the door, forgetting about his self-promise to give the Battle and Trading rooms a look. He soon reached the door, noticing that the yellow floor was now concealed in my places by the feet of trainers. Just as he was about to leave, he was stopped by the voice of Nurse Joy.

"Just letting you know that Bagon's doing fine. You should be able to pick him up by the end of the day."

Kanith nodded before rushing outside. The streets were still rather empty in some spots, but there were more people than before, at least. He looked around the buildings before finding a makeshift sigh that read "Pokemart" and pointed to the right. Kanith rushed in that direction, looking left and right, unable to find his destination. He stopped a boy about a year older than him who had six pokeballs at his waist to ask for directions. The boy was silent, but simply pointed across the street - over there was a blue-roofed building. Kanith blushed in embarrassment; what an idiot! And right in front of what looked liked an experienced trainer. He walked calmly over to the pokemart, opening the door to find many trainers all over the place, buying many things. He looked through one isle that was the most populated; it was filled with sprays with different labels. Uninterested, he went through to the next isle.

Here, he found many round disks that read things like 'Flamethrower' and 'Water Pulse'. He asked another trainer browsing one particular bunch of them what they were. He learned that they were Technical Machines, able to teach a pokemon a move it didn't naturally learn. Healso learned about Hidden Machines, which were rarer and were permanent, not breaking like Technical Machines.

He, after browsing for about twenty minutes, finally stepped up to a rather-busy clerk.

"I need a pokedex" Kanith said, showing the clerk his information paper. The clerk used his index finger to push up his glasses. Holding up several customers, he read through everything quite slowly and carefully, stopping a few times to ask Kanith if parts of the information were correct. Finally, after five minutes of trainers complaining about bad service, the man handed Kanith a pokedex. He pressed the 'on' button. In a moment, it said in its mechanical voice:

"This pokedex is registered to Kanith Silverthorn of Pallet Town, age ten. This device contains his license to capture and train pokemon. If it is stolen or lost, all data will be wiped from memory."

Kanith's eyes lit up – finally, he could start his journey…

"I'll just need 2000 pokedollars…"

"Whaaat!" Kanith asked, outraged; he didn't want to pay that much…

"You need to pay for the pokedex." The clerk said calmly. Kanith gritted his teeth in frustration before slamming down nearly all of his money on the counter. He counted out 2000, and handed it to the clerk, mumbling about outrageous prices and daylight robbery. He took the pokedex and stormed out; he didn't have much money left. After loitering outside for a moment, he decided that he would go back to the pokecenter and get Bagon to see if he would join him. He found that the way back was much easier to find than the way there, now that he had memorized the route he had taken to get there.

He soon arrived back at the pokecenter, which was now cleared out significantly. There were only a couple dozen trainers there now. Kanith pushed his way through the crowd with timid "'Scuse me"s. He reached the counter after angering several people from his pushing through, but he was oddly compelled to get Bagon back to see what he felt about him; he had saved his life, hadn't he? And he had grown quite attached to the pokemon, worrying about it on his way to and from the pokemart.

"Nurse Joy? How's Bagon doing?" he asked her. Nurse Joy simply gave her lighthearted smile.

"He's just fine. Here, you can see him…she said, leading him through the back door. Kanith could now see that there were several rooms in the back. Joy led him through one doorway; Bagon standing back on the ground, no longer having bruises nor cuts on him due to Joy's treatment.

"You got him here just in time. He had a new disease that is fatal to pokemon."

"New disease?"

"Yes, it's been appearing before. It seems to be contracted through contact with psychic pokemon, mainly Abra's, for some reason. Just be careful if you fight one."

Kanith nodded, and Joy left him and Bagon alone in the room. Bagon looked up at Kanith, and stepped forward slightly. Kanith knelt down, lightly placing his fingertips on the rock-hard crest on his head. Bagon pulled back slightly, but gave a little "Gonnn…" of pleasure; apparently that was a motion it enjoyed. It stepped forward more.

"Bagon…" Kanith said. The dragon type looked up at his face with intense eyes.

"Will you be my pokemon?" It understood, giving a small nod and toothy grin Kanith found somewhat cute. Bagon followed him out the door and to the front to Nurse Joy.

She smiled at the duo, and handed Kanith five pokeballs.

"A gift from Professor Oak…also, the first gym Leader, Brock, is in Pewter city…" Joy pointed out. Kanith smiled.

"We'll fight him…right, Bagon?" He asked his blue companion.

"Bagon!" It replied happily.

((A/N: So...Whaddya think? Constructive criticism is welcome, of course - flamers, obviously, are not. Please, I'd like to know what you think.))


	2. Chapter 2

((A/N: Yesh, I know this chapter's shorter, but I promise the next one will be the longest yet! Enjoy!)

Chapter Two: Humiliating Defeat!

"Bagon is a dragon-type pokemon, standing approximately 2 feet in height, and can learn the moves dragonbreath, headbutt, ember, bite, and rage. It evolves into Shelgon, and Shelgon into Salamence." The mechanical voice of Kanith's pokedex drawled. It flashed a picture of Salamence, and Kanith's eyes lit up with glee. He knelt down to Bagon and showed him the picture of Salamence.

"That's what you'll be, ya know…" he said, still grinning. Bagon's eyes matched Kanith's soon, and it was obvious why; all Bagon held a never-ceasing dream to fly, and now Bagon knew it would be someday. The duo had not yet left Viridian, staying there for several days, relaxing at times and training at others. Kanith had experimented, and found that Bagon knew how to use most of the attacks listed in the pokedex. He had found that Bagon was one of the few pokemon who disliked pokeballs. It didn't bother Kanith much, but it was less convenient.

Today was the day, though, he had decided to leave Viridian; Bagon seemed ready enough, and the last stop to go to was the pokemart to get the potions they needed; Kanith knew that he had better be safe than sorry…

Standing back up fully, he left for the mart. As he and Bagon walked through the city, he realized how attached he had grown to this place; all the trainers were nice and helpful, and gave him suggestions for training. Overall, the city itself was pleasant, busier than Pallet Town, but not bustling to the point in which it would be difficult to sleep at night. Kanith took a right, nearing the mart, jolted from his thoughts when he nearly bumped into someone; the person had two pokeballs, and wore a black vest. The majority of his face was concealed by dark hair, and his overall demeanor was somewhat intimidating. Kanith frowned slightly, and quickly walked into the mart. He browsed the many spray-like medicines, now knowing what effect each of the colorful medicines had. He bought a few antidotes and potions, each only meant for minor wounds. If anything major happened to Bagon, he didn't want to have to rush back to the pokemon center again, so he picked one super potion just in case. As soon as he was about to go and cash out, something caught his eye; the TM section had been of interest to him; the idea that a pokemon could learn a move it didn't naturally have was appealing to Kanith, as it could make his pokemon become that much stronger.

He stepped up to the cases of Technical Machines, and looked through the multi-colored CDs until he stopped at one marked 'Dragon Claw'…he remembered that Bagon was a Dragon pokemon, and quickly pulled the bluish CD out of its case. It was a risky buy; what if it wasn't compatible with Bagon for some reason?

'_Doesn't matter, I guess…I could probably save it if I need to anyway._'

Kanith mentally reasoned. He put the items on the table and let the clerk ring them up. The cost was paid, leaving him with very little money; he'd have to earn more soon. He went outside, and decided to wait for a while before he taught Bagon the TM….he'd have to figure out how it worked beforehand. Walking north, he found the streets becoming less populated as he walked. He knew from his map someone had given him, that Pewter was north of Viridian, through one of the largest forests in the world, Viridian Forest. It was widely known that there were many trainers here, and Kanith was already itching for a battle now that he had learned all of the aspects of being a trainer.

By now, he had gotten on the relatively short Route 2, rather quiet, with very few pokemon. Kanith used his pokedex to scan a few different interesting pokemon, finding out about Pidgey, Caterpie, Weedle, Kakuna, and Rattata. Bagon was rather quiet throughout the entire walk, seeming more focused on the task at hand.

"You know, Bagon, I think-"

"Fight me."

Kanith was interrupted by another voice, one that was calm and seemed to be whisked away with the light breeze. Kanith looked to the origin of the sound, to his right. He saw there the kid in the black vest, one of his two pokeballs held in his hand, enlarged to full size and preparing to throw.

Kanith shook his head at the challenge.

"Trainers must fight when their eyes lock. Think of it as a code of honor." He replied in that unnerving voice that didn't seem to fit his intimidating aura.

Kanith sighed. This guy seemed to take things quite seriously, and if it was a battle he wanted, it would be a battle he'd get, though it would be the first of Kanith's. He head was swimming with un-asked questions; Who was this guy? What pokemon did he have? Which one was he going to use? How would he fight? Only one came out.

"So, who are you anyway…before we battle, I'd like to know." Kanith said, Bagon stepping forward and flicking his head at Kanith to show his impatience. Kanith couldn't help but giving a smirk; Bagon was quite impulsive and raring to go already! He was jolted back to reality by the almost creepy voice.Kanith looked back to the black-clad person; he was about a foot and a half taller than he was, and was at least 5 years older.

"Dante Adams, but that's not important. What _is_ is this battle."

_'Well, he got straight to the point, alright…'_

Kanith thought, but said nothing, only nodding, ready for the battle. Dante, understanding, threw the pokeball, and with a white flash, a wolf-like pokemon was released. It had silver ridges on it's head and back, and looked quite ferocious. Kanith drew the pokedex from his backpack, pointing it at the dark pokemon.

"Houndour – This pokemon can attack with dark type moves like crunch, as well as fire-type moves such as flamethrower." The pokemon encyclopedia drawled. Kanith stowed it back into the backpack.

"Right…Bagon, use headbutt!" Kanith commanded, Bagon launching forward, its head almost colliding with the dark-type pokemon, which barely dodged the technique. Without a command, Houndour launched forward from it's maw a burst of flame. Bagon was bathed in the flames, and soon fell forward, unconscious, the flames leaving several burn marks on the dragon-type. The flames were almost scalding even at this range, and were almost white-hot in some places. It was a good thing dragon-types had resistance to fire, or Bagon would have been in even deeper trouble.

_'Woah…he's good…'_

Kanith thought, stepping forward, pulling the backpack off, unzipping it. He rummaged through the bottles of spray medicine until he found one marked 'potion'. He sprayed it on Bagon, watching as the wounds sealed up quickly. He was amazed at the power of the medicine that was sold at the pokemart and vaguely wondered what the super potion would do if he used it. As soon as the bottle was empty and Bagon was back on his feet, Kanith looked up, expecting to see the trainer there, but nothing was there…As if he simply walked out just after he had won, without even a handshake, which was traditional before most battles. Whoever it was, he was rude, but he was in a league of his own. To put it simply, Kanith, a new trainer, just got completely destroyed by some guy who wanted to fight.

"No way…that guy's good. He didn't even have to command Houndour, and it was over in only a few seconds…" Kanith said mostly to himself, clenching his fist.

"I'm gonna fight him again…but he had two pokemon…although, it's not like he needed both. But I'll need to catch another one, myself… so I'll need to train Bagon and whatever else there is to catch…so, I guess it's time to use this…" he said, searching in the bag. He drew out the blue-ish disc with a tag on the end that read: Technical Machine: 02 – Dragon's Claw.

He moved over to Bagon with the disc in hand.

"Look, Bagon. This is a Technical Machine, and it'll teach you a new move you wouldn't normally know…" he explained, hoping he would use the disc correctly; he didn't want to hurt Bagon. Bagon nodded, seeming to understand what was going to happen. Kanith positioned it over Bagon's head, lowering it slowly. As soon as it came into contact with the dragon-type, it began to glow, slowly turning from dark blue to turquoise to cyan to white. The heat from the now-white disc caused Kanith to go into a sweat, his fingers beginning to burn slightly from the sheer power of the Technical Machine. He began to worry that he had used it incorrectly, but waited to see what would happen. Blue balls of energy began to orbit his dragon pokemon, and Bagon looked as if he was in pain for a moment. Soon, the energy, which was orbiting ever closer, was absorbed into the leathery skin. After a moment like this, the disc began to slowly revert to its normal color, and when it was blue again, it cracked straight through the middle. The glow was gone, and Bagon looked like it had gained new power.

"Okay, Bagon! Use Dragon Claw on…" Kanith looked around for a target, until he found a large boulder a good distance away.

"On that rock!" Kanith finished his command. Bagon's left set of claws began to glow, and it charged up to the boulder, and Kanith didn't see what happened after that; smoke began to rise from where Bagon should have been. After a moment of genuine worry, the smoke cleared, revealing the boulder to be demolished, broken into thousands of pieces. Bagon was standing in a triumphant pose, giving a toothy grin that must have been learnt from another human. This both amused and confused Kanith. It was funny, at least, but who had it learned it from? That meant it must have had a trainer once to learn a human posture like that, right? But it didn't really matter…because now Bagon was his pokemon. Instead, Kanith smirked at the power of the new move. Maybe if he met that guy again, he could try to defeat him…this, Dante kid. But, for now he'd need to get to Pewter to earn his first badge. So, with the dragon pokemon at his heels, he entered the forest through the large building separating Route 2 and Viridian forest. Inside were a few trainers socializing and battling, and a security guard. Kanith didn't bother; he would fight some people in the forest, he was sure of it. So, he simply showed the guard his pokedex, which included his ID and Trainer's License and was able to enter Viridian Forest, which could have stretched forever; as no light was on the horizon; you could easily get lost in the place for weeks if you didn't stay on the trails.

"I wonder, which way…" Kanith said to himself, looking at the dark forest ahead; there were two passes through the thick bunches of trees. The canopy of the tall trees blocked out most of the sunlight. He shrugged absently, and decided to go right, not finding any pokemon he hadn't already gotten data on.

Only a few yards down the path, he saw a kid his age wearing casual clothing, with pokeballs at his waist…

"Hey, you! Let's battle!"

Kanith smirked; this would be the first of many trainers he'd probably encounter in the forest…

((A/N: Okay, I know it was a little shorter, and I somewhat cut it off, but I don't really think it was necessary typing up all those battles. I just wanted to know, do you think I should have done so? Please review and give any suggestions, no matter how useless you may think they are.)


	3. Chapter 3

((A/N: Once again, I apologize deeply for the last chapter. I really didn't like it myself, but I promised you this one would be tons better...so, here we go!)

Chapter Three: A Pokemon, A Battle, A Friend

"Nope. Just Caterpies and Weedles…" Kanith said to himself absently; he could see the exit to Pewter City, but he didn't want to leave until he caught another pokemon. He didn't want any bug types, as they were rather weak in his opinion, though it was justified, since Bagon had defeated at least a few dozen of the critters, and Kanith had easily won many battles with only a few Ember attacks against the trainer's bug pokemon. Kanith didn't want a Pidgey, either, nor a Pikachu; he wanted something else, something different from those two. Something versatile that he could rely on. He considered capturing Pikachu, but decided not to, considering the Gym leader ahead was a rock-type user, according to the Trainers in the forest. Pikachu would be useless there, and Bagon probably wouldn't do much good. Although it didn't have a complete disadvantage, its lack of experience with the formidable Dragon Claw technique would make the battle nearly impossible to win. Therefore, Kanith needed to find something else, something that would give him a complete advantage.

Something else that had been bothering him was Bagon's unusual human behavior. He knew that whatever Kanith gave him was safe to eat, and he didn't fear fire either. And Kanith knew that if Bagon was actually wild, he would have been fearful of fire. Another thing was Bagon acting as if he was a human. And Kanith had recently begun to wonder if Bagon actually thought that he was human. He was pondering this as he leant against a tree, not looking for pokemon, absently fingering the pokedex, ready to scan anything that came in sight. Not that it would help, since he was looking up at Viridian Forest's canopy in thought. Bagon was lying on his back, snoozing lightly.

Kanith snapped back to reality when he heard a scratching against wood, but the sound was somewhat loud. He snapped his head around the forest floor, looking for the origin of the sound. He soon found the source; a purple, horned pokemon with large ears was lightly scratching the ground, as if digging for something. Kanith silently pointed the pokedex at it, and turned off the voice volume, not wanting to scare it away, instead opting to read the text.

_Nidoran, male. The male Nidoran has developed muscles in its ears. Thanks to them, it can detect quiet sounds in any direction from some distance. The horn on its head secretes a deadly poison._

"Nidoran, huh?" Kanith asked to no one in particular. He drew a pokeball from his waist, carefully aiming it at the purple, unsuspecting pokemon. He wound up, throwing it as hard as he could, hitting Nidoran square in the face. The poison-type was absorbed into the pokeball with a blinding flash of red light. Kanith looked down at the red-and-white ball once his sight was recovered, only to discover that it was broken in half, and Nidoran was glaring daggers at Kanith.

"What happened?" Kanith wondered aloud. After a moment, he realized that he should have weakened it before attempting to capture it. Nidoran, instead of attacking, maintained it's position, ready to attack in a near-hopeless situation, but not wanting to run away; a pokemon's natural sense of pride.

"Bagon, use headbutt!"

Bagon immediately responded, leaping up from his slumber, and charged headfirst at the Nidoran, it's horn not doing much of anything to Bagon's rock-hard head, as it's horn wouldn't mature until it evolved, in which it would be sharp enough to pierce a diamond. Nidoran was launched back into a tree by the force of the headbutt, and Kanith drew his pokeball, knowing that he'd have to capture it before it had a chance to recuperate and counter Bagon's assault. He grasped another pokeball from his belt, pressing the button to enlarge it from it's usual marble-size, and threw it with as much force as the last time. The red light enveloped Nidoran again, and absorbed it into the pokeball. Kanith and Bagon both watched, the tension becoming nearly too much to bear as the pokeball waggled back and forth, the pokemon fighting to get out.

Soon, Kanith gave a sigh of relief as the white button blinked, signaling that the pokemon was caught.

"Yes! Bagon, we did it!" Kanith yelled to his partner, who grinned. Kanith rushed forward to pick up his prize, and deposited the pokeball at his belt, ready to use. He thought for a moment, quite awkwardly standing in the middle of the woods in simple thinking process. What to do now? He could challenge Brock, the Gym Leader…or, he could train Nidoran. Actually…

'_I oughta bring Nidoran and Bagon back to the Pokemon Center in Pewter. Then I'll train a little with Nidoran…'_

Kanith nodded to himself, his next action decided. He turned towards the entrance to Pewter, glad that he had decided not to adventure further into the forest. He probably would have gotten lost if he had. As he was thinking this, he passed by several pokemon, not bothering to scan them nor capture them; he was content with his new pokemon, and feeling rather proud of himself at the moment. He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, but lost in thought of the new possibilities, the many new doors of opportunity that had just opened up to him with the capturing of this pokemon. Before he knew it, he was at the pokemon Center, still standing there in absent thought.

"Can I help you?"

The kind voice jarred him back to reality, and he nodded.

"Sorry, just thinking…anyway, here's my pokemon…" He said, returning Bagon to his much-disliked pokeball and giving the Nurse the now-filled pokeballs containing Nidoran and Bagon.

He watched as she placed them into a machine that glowed a bright, white light over the pokeballs. As this happened, Kanith wondered…wasn't this the same Nurse as before?

"Hey…aren't you from Viridian? I mean, aren't ya the same Nurse?"

"Everyone asks that! Oh, no dear, she's my sister…there are about 14 of us Joys in Kanto, all of us operating the various pokemon healing facilities…Pokemon Centers."

Kanith gave a simple "Oh.", unable to think of anything else to say; 13 sisters! He could hardly stand his brother as it was, and to have that times thirteen…well, he knew his parents would have had trouble keeping things civilized, and he knew that he would have probably gotten very little for his Birthday or Christmas! He was lucky he only had one sibling, this he was sure of.

As he was thinking this, the machine stopped it's bright white glowing, and Nurse Joy retrieved the pokeballs, handing them to Kanith, who released Bagon. Bagon shook his head rapidly, disliking pokeballs quite a lot. He glared daggers at Kanith, who smiled sheepishly, only to get a small Ember flicked at his hand, singeing one of his fingers. Now it was Bagon's turn to smile as a distressed Kanith sucked his burnt finger in a babyish way.

Kanith left the Center without another word, heading to the woods to train.

"Nidoran, come out!" Kanith yelled, the pokeball in his hand releasing the purple horned pokemon out. Nidoran seemed more content with Kanith now that he had been in his ball for a while. Kanith thought for a moment…was it really fair to do this to a pokemon? To take it away from it family and natural environment to unwillingly fight? It all sounded so wrong to Kanith…almost like slavery. But, if he was going to beat Brock, he'd need this pokemon…

"Look, Nidoran. Once I defeat Brock, you can go back into the wild with your family. But until then, will you work together with me?"

Kanith asked the pokemon. Nidoran nodded, seeming to be happy with this agreement. Kanith smiled in return.

"Alright then…let's see what you can do…"

Kanith said, scanning Nidoran with the pokedex…apparently, it learned Horn attack, Double kick, Poison sting, and Take down. Its natural strength would be useful against Brock as well, it's techniques could damage the rock types he used.

"Right…let's start! Aim poison sting at these!" Kanith commanded, grabbing a handful of leaves and throwing them up into the air. Nidoran charged, and was able to spear all the leaves onto it's horn…

After many hours of training, Kanith thought that he was definitely ready for Brock; he trained with Bagon and Nidoran quite a bit, and had gotten the hang of all of Nidoran's attacks. He also had a few battles with several trainers, and hadn't lost, although most of the people he fought had weaknesses to the pokemon he had, so maybe it was simply the type-matching aspect. Either way, he felt that soon, he would be ready for Brock. He was certain that he and Nidoran had already developed a sort of bond, but Nidoran seemed to be somewhat restrained, as if he wasn't interested in being his pokemon. But, as long as it would help him defeat Brock, he wasn't complaining.

"Right…return, Nidoran!" Kanith said, pressing the pokeball's button to return Nidoran to its artificial slumber. The pokeball reverted to it's marble size, Kanith storing it on his belt. He was happy with the amount of training he had done today, and was ready to go to bed, though it had only just occurred to him that he should have gotten a tent…a life as a trainer pretty much demanded it. He would need a sleeping bag, too. Kanith soon found himself listing off a multitude of things that would be needed if he was going to become a trainer…cooking pots, sleeping bags, tents, food…

'_What am I aiming for anyway? I guess I could just take the Gym Leader challenge, like I planned to…'_

Kanith was left to ponder this and many more deep questions as he watched the Pidgey fly from tree to tree in flocks. It felt so natural, yet so different from the pampered life he had lived up until only a few days ago. What _was_ he there for, anyway? He simply left with no notice to his mother, and ditched his old life…but, why? Was it just an in-born sense? Or was he there for something else? Maybe…maybe he was just there to prove that he wouldn't lose to his brother, but it didn't matter. He could only afford to keep his mind on the present, and he knew this, so he kept his mind off these questions whose answers only led in circles. So, instead, he thought about getting a tent. He had just enough money for it and some food from the money he had won in the pokemon battles from the previous hours. So, he decided to head for the pokemart, and found himself there quicker than before; apparently he had gotten used to the route from Viridian Forest to Pewter, memorizing the turns; left, left, left, right, straight…it was easier once one had been in the forest environment for a period time, almost like a sixth sense, it was.

After leaving the pokemart, he found himself in possession of a bag of Pokemon food that was ideal for pokemon in the Dragon breeding group; there was a type for every breeding group, used to optimize the pokemon's proper development and performance in battle. He didn't read the whole bag, but Kanith knew that it would be best for Bagon, because he was obviously in the dragon breeding group. Also among his new possessions was a small, collapsible tent that was quite small when not in use, a Technical Machine case, and several berries that were the favorites of pokemon; Kanith had bought a few of each, wanting to see which kinds Bagon and Nidoran liked. Lastly, he got a few cups of stew that could be easily heated up with hot coals.

Oddly enough, Kanith had no trouble in fitting all of these things in his backpack with space to spare; compact things were quite useful, and he made a mental note to never buy anything too big.

As he was heading back to Viridian, he was stopped by a familiar voice…

"Hey, I know you!"

Kanith whirled around to see…

"You're that kid I lost to! I hate losing, and what's worse, you had to sneak off like that! You could at least give a handshake!"

Kanith snapped to the black-clad teen. Dante had a sheepish look on his face, embarrassed at something.

"Sorry, I got a really urgent call, and I had to leave…if it makes you feel better, we could fight one-on-one again."

Dante replied. Kanith grinned and nodded.

"Yeah. Sorry for being a jerk before. Anyway, let's go, Bagon!" Kanith commanded, Bagon charging in front of his trainer. Dante released his Houndour, and wasted no time in delivering a white-hot flamethrower at Bagon. Luckily enough, Bagon's speed had improved somewhat, and was able to avoid the scalding flames.

"Houndour, use Bite!" Dante commanded the black wolf, who charged at Bagon at a great speed, able to get a hold on his front leg, Bagon didn't do anything, not even attempting to get out of the deadly, ever-tightening hold. Kanith was in a cold sweat; what to do? Houndour was a Dark and Fire type according to his pokedex, and the pokemon's teeth were getting ever-deeper into Bagon's leathery flesh…Ember wouldn't work…Kanith had an idea, but it was pretty risky…He hadn't practiced the move much, but it was worth a try. He thought intently, wondering what exactly to do…he didn't have any moves good against Houndour's types, and after a moment, he decided to just go through with his plan.

"Bagon! Use your Dragon Claw as an uppercut!" Kanith commanded, watching intensely as Bagon's free claw glowed white, and launched upward, knocking the wolf's grip off of Bagon, and throwing it into the air.

"Good, now wait….!"

Dante was helpless; in the air, Houndour couldn't use any attacks, and it took a hard blow to it's jaw. Bagon was waiting for the command, and as soon as Houndour was near the ground, Kanith gave his command…

"Headbutt!"

Bagon charged forward headfirst, Kanith's timing was perfect, as Houndour was hit by the headbutt as it was still falling, which sent it flying in another direction, and it was stopped by a tree, taking a great impact which knocked it out. Kanith cheered, and Bagon ran back to its trainer, who was laughing at his victory. Bagon leapt towards his trainer, hugging his leg and giving an odd noise that sounded like laughing. Dante returned Houndour back to it's pokeball.

"Great battle!" Dante said, not sounding phased by the victory at all. He offered his hand, and Kanith shook it, unable to stop grinning.

Dante had stuck around for a while, talking about pokemon in general, talking about their respective lives. Kanith found himself acquainted with the trainer quickly, and Dante had learned a bit about Kanith, too. They were in Viridian Forest, Dante had shown Kanith how to put up a tent properly, how to cook some basic dishes, which even Kanith had the incompetence to burn, and how to find pokemon berries. They were around a campfire Bagon had lit, sending the radius of their campsite into a glowing red light. Bagon was busy hiding in Kanith's new sleeping bag, and Kanith had made friends with Houndour, and learned that Dante other pokemon was Poliwag. Houndour was sitting at his master's side, licking one paw, and Poliwag was busy diving in and out of the small pond near their campsite.

"So, uh…where are you headed now?" Kanith asked his friend who was beginning to doze off.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I was thinking, maybe I could go with you? I want to keep my eye on you. Where are you going, anyway?"

Kanith found it odd that he had made friends with a guy he had first assumed to be a jerk, but now he was traveling with him? Kanith wouldn't mind; in fact, he would welcome a friend, but it was just different for him.

"Cool. I'm goin' to take on Brock, the Pewter Gym Leader. I'm gonna be in the Indigo League!" he replied excitedly.

"Wait…Brock doesn't run the Pewter Gym. He's in Hoenn, but his brother Forrest is the new Gym Leader. You're going in the Kanto League?" He didn't wait for an answer. "I'm aiming to find as many undocumented pokemon as I can…it was my father's dream, and he documented about 80 of current existing information on Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos. I want to learn about them, and catch them if I can." He said, seeming like he was choosing his words slowly for some reason, absently stroking Houndour's head.

"Wow…" Was all that Kanith could say, and he realized something…

"Don't they have like, almost no information on those birds?" He asked, making a good point. Dante simply gave a "humph".

"Whatever, I'm tired…'night, Kanith…" He said, going to his tent after retrieving his pokemon to their artificial slumber in the pokeballs. Kanith poked the fire with a stick, overturning one of the logs, and went to bed as well, getting into his sleeping bag, but not without difficulty removing Bagon from it, who seemed to like hiding in the bag. Finally, Kanith decided to let Bagon crawl on his chest after he was in the bag, and feel into a peaceful slumber.

((A/N: Hey, Moon, hope you like this backdrop for Dante! Anyway, my reviewers, sorry it took me this long to update.)


End file.
